Williams to head Waverly group

Carole Sloan, Staff Staff -- Home Textiles Today, February 4, 2002

Dale Williams will join F. Schumacher & Co. later this month as president of its Waverly Lifestyle Group.

Williams has been senior vp, global sourcing and international marketing at Springs Inds. since last October. Earlier he was president and ceo of HomePortfolio, an Internet site for home design products. Prior to that he was for many years a senior executive at WestPoint Stevens.

He will report to Gerald Puschel, president and ceo of Schumacher and succeeds Christiane Michaels, who left in December to become president of White Barn Candle Co., a division of Bath & Body Works.

Puschel called Williams "a visionary leader with international experience bringing a proven record in brand building and executing strategies."

In an interview before he joins the company, Williams called Waverly's position "as a brand, fundamentally great. It's an unusual franchise in an industry with fewer and fewer opportunities to brand to consumers. It's important to maintain Waverly's status as a cutting-edge fabric brand. The consumer sees Waverly as having a special place in her home."

Among the 16 product licensees of the Waverly brand are Glenoit for kitchen rugs, Divatex for specialty bedding, Perfect Fit for basic bedding, Lexington for furniture and Beaulieu Residential for area rugs and wall to wall carpets. Other Waverly products range across home furnishings from decorative window hardware to lamps, dinnerware/glassware and paint.